The Crux's Shield
by rareromantic07
Summary: "We're trying to move on Izuku, and I think you should too." (Izuku/Momo) Warning: This story contains possible spoilers for future My Hero Academia chapters. Cover art credit goes to Kaydeefoxx
1. Recovery

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own My Hero Academia. All characters and ideas are property of Kohei Horikoshi. Thank you._

_**A/N:**__ I have a warning for anyone who decides to read this. I went down a research rabbit hole with this anime/manga series, and I've managed to get more of an inside scoop on where the actual manga is headed. The first thing I want to do is warn you that this story POSSIBLY contains future spoilers. If you don't want any chance that this series will be spoiled for you down the road, DO NOT READ THIS XD. Depending on how the actual story plays out in the future, I may remove this warning… but we'll see. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading the first chapter of __The Crux's Shield__! Enjoy :)_

-0-0-0-0-0-

**_Recovery_**

The heavy thud of sneaker on pavement rang out through the air. Hot and tired breaths flowed in a synchronized pattern along with the rhythm of his feet and the swing of metal:

In, two, three, four...

Out, two, three...

Shoe laces lapped at the loose pebbles kicked about by worn soles, weathered from use and time as sweat droplets rained ever so lightly, sprinkling down only to be evaporated by the heat of the day before they reached collision with the ground.

The running stopped in front of a familiar apartment complex, and the swish of water no fresher than the day it was packaged ran down the throat of a 16 year old, and once quirkless, young man. His wavy green hair clung to his face, wet from perspiration as a result of his routine morning run.

He brought the water bottle away after chugging its contents and gasped for breath, his lungs on fire. Bringing out his phone he gave a satisfied smile as he read its display.

_5.02 Miles_

_Time: 21 min 35 sec_

"Well I'm definitely improving, I think I can bring it down more though…"

He had made it a habit to limit his runs to his natural body's abilities. Pushing himself to the limit was hard to do when his given quirk could take him the same distance in less than two minutes. He was pulled from his thoughts when he looked up to see his mother, Inko Midoriya, coming out of the upstairs apartment with a smile.

"Izu! Breakfast is ready! I imagine you're hungry!"

His innocent eyes complimented by the freckles scattered on his face lit up at the sound of food, and his stomach growled with a vengeance.

"Alright Mom! I'll be right there!" came his response, slightly deeper than it was just a few months ago. He was maturing, and although he couldn't exactly notice it himself, his mother had. She looked down at him in awe, realizing just how much he had grown up in the past year in his quest to become a hero. He now stood taller with broader shoulders, and while his muscles were not bulky like an ox, they held a firm and chiseled appearance that could cut diamond. And although he still carried around a slight baby face, his jawline and sharpened cheekbones were becoming impossibly hard to ignore. Her baby boy was growing into an adult, and fast.

However she couldn't help but also look at his new silver right arm. She sighed deeply. 'Now if only he could stop getting into so much trouble so he can LIVE to be an adult that would be great! Actually at this point I'm more worried about dying from these heart attacks he gives me-'

"Izuku definitely picks up after you with the whole muttering thing huh?" said a blonde haired man standing behind her from the doorway. He wore a black and dark gray pinstripe suit a good several sizes too large for him that exaggerated how thinly he really was. In that regard, due to a recent change of diet and exercise, he had already begun filling out to a slightly healthier level. However, he still was, in the words of Katsuki Bakugo, "skinny as fuck".

"Oh dear was I rambling again? I should really learn to control that," Inko fretted. "Have you eaten? I understand you only came to talk to Izuku and take him to school, but you're welcome to enjoy breakfast with us."

"Thank you Miss Midoriya, I would love to."

A flash of green electricity sparked next to the conversing adults.

"All Might!" a slightly out of breath Izuku exclaimed as he was perched on the balcony guard wall.

Inko felt slightly faint as she realized he had just jumped to their floor instead of just using the stairs like a normal person.

'There he goes giving me a heart attack again!'

"Young Midoriya! I'm actually here to take you to the Academy today, I have some important things to talk to you about on the way there is all."

Izuku wordlessly hopped off the ledge and hugged him.

"Midoriya," All Might said, and just like Inko, was fully aware of the metal arm being wrapped tightly around him, "I'm okay now, you don't have anything to worry about."

A light sniffle was heard before Izuku regained his composure, smiling brightly and wiping his eyes. "I-I'm sorry, I-I can't help it. I'll go get ready now," he said, before rushing into the apartment.

"Seems he's doing well," All Might said, observing the bounce in his successor's step.

"Oh trust me he's been dying to get back to class. I sometimes forget how much of a hero fanatic my son really is," Inko replies with a soft heartfelt laugh…

The trio sat at the table relatively quietly, each digging in to their own assortment of eggs, pancakes and sausage. Despite the simplicity of the breakfast, Izuku found it absolutely delicious.

Or he was just hungry.

Inko however was only almost done eating her first pancake when she decided to ask, "not to pry or anything, but I'm just curious. What exactly is it that you need to talk to my son about?"

All Might took the time to chew and swallow, downing it with a swig of orange juice before he answered, "oh, to be honest it's nothing too much. I'm just going to be giving him a run down of the new year and see how his quirk has progressed over the break is all."

"Oh yes! How has his quirk been coming along?"

"Miss Midoriya I honestly don't know at the moment because I haven't received word from him since the start of the break."

Inko paused. Then slowly turned towards Izuku.

"Izuku didn't I tell you to keep your quirk training updated with All Migh- er- Mr. Yagi?" A quick apologetic look was given to All Might before he raised his hand in polite dismissal, having taken no offense.

She continued, "have you not been doing what I asked? You may be becoming a young man, but it's still our job to look after you, please don't forget that."

Throughout Inko's reprimand Izuku was sputtering, trying to rebuttal that, although few and far between, he had indeed been sending updates to All Might… or at least he was about to rebuttal until he caught on that All Might was actually diverting her from finding too much information. One look at his mentor's almost pleading eyes was all it took for him to understand.

"But I! Uh! But! Bu-," he paused before slightly lowering his head in defeat, "yes ma'am."

All Might snorted in laughter before his eyes widened. Izuku knew their cover had just been broken. Suddenly All Might began to forcibly cough up blood. 'What the hell? You can control that now?' Izuku thought.

The tension was short lived as his mother began to panic. "Oh my god! Mr. Yagi are you ok? Let me get you some water just stay put!" As she got up to get him a glass Izuku couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the little stunt his mentor just pulled. His intimidating glare towards All Might was met with a mischievous wink before his face contorted back to a mask of feigned pain.

Izuku's mother wouldn't calm down either, "oh you poor thing…!"

'I don't even know,' thought Izuku.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Since when did you get so sly huh?" Izuku's interrogation began almost immediately upon departure.

"I learned from the best! The students of course! You guys are always sneaking trying to get away with things…" All Might said as he drove them in his truck.

Izuku just sighed.

"Key word: trying. You guys would be terrible mentors in stealth considering you haven't once been able to pull off anything under the radar without being caught," All Might chuckled, teasing his successor.

"Hey! We-"

"Speaking of which, that brings me to what I want to talk about," All Might said seriously.

"Oh? What is it?"

"Due to… certain circumstances," at that Izuku's eyes went dark, "and the fact that your class in particular has been through so much compared to any other class in our school's history, your progress to becoming pro heroes has become quite fast tracked."

Izuku's dark mood lifted slightly at the implication of this as All Might continued.

"Because of this, your classes will start to become fast paced, and we trust for each of you to be able to keep up with the extra work we're about to put you all through. With most of your class already having a provisional license in your first year, which in itself is almost unheard of, internships will be running year round. This is an offer we usually only extend to the third year students, but a discussion between the staff and Principal Nezu led us to believe that all of you have developed enough to take on this challenge."

Izuku's eyes were practically gleaming with excitement over this new information.

'Theoretically, this means I'll get to work as a sidekick for most of the year!'

However, his positive thoughts were then cut short.

"Which brings me back to what I was saying before… Since you'll be out along with the pros and doing the real thing, keep the sneaky business out of it as much as you can. I can't stress this enough. The real hero world isn't like U.A. is Midoriya, as getting in trouble as a pro has much more severe consequences than getting in trouble while simply being a student. It would look extremely bad on your record, and any hero agency would think twice or more about hiring a hero they don't know if they can trust. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Yes sir, I understand. Doing all the things we did last year while we're actually working with pros would endanger our careers…"

"... And people Midoriya. When working with other pros heros, trust is a crucial factor in how a situation will turn out, and can mean the difference between life and death for yourself, who you're saving, or even another hero." The engine of the truck was all that was heard for several seconds. "We've lost… too many heroes just this past term, and I almost lost you along with your entire class… we don't need more."

More silence ensued. It was too soon to think about.

All Might cleared his throat to break the tension, "Just please remember that. I admire your great heroic attitude, but make sure to use that head of yours as well. You're very smart, smarter than I ever was at your age, but what you often lack is general communication and self confidence."

"I-I know, I've never really been great at talking to people."

"Midoriya you have far exceeded my expectations when it comes to leading under pressure, but now," he paused his words as he turned into the next street, "now I want you to become a natural leader, one who can make the best decision out of any given situation. It's a difficult task, I know, even one that I wasn't able to fully grasp. But you, my boy, most definitely have that potential. Also, I know you're not exactly ready to talk about this, but… I want to thank you again for everything that you did. Because of you, many heroes and many of your classmates are still here to fight on."

Izuku's eyes began watering, his emotional turmoil still ever so present from the battle with Shigaraki's Liberation army just a few months back.

"I say again Midoriya, and I speak for everyone when I say this."

The tears poured.

"Thank you so much."

"All Might I- I don't know w-what to s-say… Umm thank you so much for seeing me in such a high regard! And I promise I won't let you down! I'll *sniff* do everything I can to make sure of that!"

"**NOW THAT'S THE ATTITUDE I WANNA SE- **ACK!" his sudden change into his buff form lasted for the better half of 2 seconds before he deflated again, spraying blood all over his windshield.

"ALL MIGHT THE ROAD!"

"SHIT I KNOW!"

The next three minutes were spent with Izuku bawling his eyes out as they began swerving through traffic, trying to clear the windshield.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Midoriya, why the hell… on the first day of your second year… are you late?"

"Uhh you see, All Might was giving me a ride to school, but then he got pulled over because of reckless driving but it was an accident and he's not actually a reckless driver and honestly I was probably in his way 'cause I was trying to clean the windshield but I couldn't see very well because I was crying and also because he tried to go buff and-"

"Midoriya you know I can't understand you when you're muttering, and why don't you have your school jacket on? And why is it covered in blood?"

"That's becau-"

"Actually I don't wanna know, just have a seat. I heard the name All Might somewhere in your muttering so I'll just ask him later."

Izuku emitted a very high pitched, "yes sir!" before rushing to his seat in embarrassment.

"Alright kids listen up. I'm gonna give you guys time to think about or discuss who your pick for the new Class President and Vice President will be for this year. I'm gonna go have a little chat with All Might.." He promptly walked out of the classroom without a second word or thought.

Izuku looked towards the rest of the class with a smile, ready to start the day when he realized that no one… absolutely no one… was uttering a single word.

'What the…'

"Hey is everything alright man?" asked the purple haired hero behind him.

"Yeah I'm good Mineta, just had kind of a crazy morning," he saw Momo giving him a concerned look, holding a thumbs up in question as if to ask, "you good?"

He smiled and gave a thumbs up back with his right gloved hand before turning back around to face the front, already feeling extremely awkward about the silence in the air.

"Hey Izuku when was the last time you checked the group chat?" it was Uraraka, and the tension in the class suddenly became much higher, some of his classmates seemingly becoming unexplainably spastic.

"U-umm lemme think… I think it was… a couple months ago?"

Suddenly Ochako's eyelids lowered, her face becoming slightly depressed at the implication. "I noticed you haven't been very social lately, are you sure everything is alrigh-"

"Quit being a fucking baby Deku! We're all alive and that's all that matters! Get the fuck over yourself! Quit being so fucking sad 'cause it's PISSING me off!"

In a way, even if Bakugo's rant was somewhat rude, alright VERY rude, it calmed him. He needed that kick in the rear to draw him out of his stupor.

"Hey man have you really not checked the group chat like… at all?" Mineta asked from behind him.

"I-I'm sorry guys if there's something I'm supposed to know I can look to check right now if you need me to."

"Not necessary. In time you'll be filled in Midoriya. Iida will explain afterwards. For now we're just waiting for Mr. Aizawa to get back" explained Todoroki from his seat.

"C-Can I at least have a hint?"

"NO!" most of the class said collectively.

Izuku's head shrunk between his shoulders at the sudden outburst.

"Don't worry Izuku, it's nothing bad!" Kirishima laughed, "whether you like it or not I have no idea… But trust me when I say everything that's about to happen is for the best!"

What followed afterward was another intense period of awkward silence. One in which Izuku began thinking of every possible scenario his friends would be so adamant about keeping secret from him. Was he in trouble? Surely not. He couldn't think of anything he did besides this morning that would earn him any sort of reprimand. Was he being dropped? Wait, that would go with the trouble question.

'No, they couldn't have figured out about One for All. There's no way…' He turned back towards the class again, all of them giving off an ominous energy as they stared him down.

'No calm down Izuku! Calm down! Calm down! Calm dow-'

"Yes Mr. Midoriya calm down before you start your muttering again," said Mr. Aizawa as he entered the class. He continued, "everyone in the front row come take a stack of voting slips and pass them back to your fellow classmates."

After a moment of waiting for the slips to be passed out, Izuku thought long and hard about who he would vote for. He was at a crossroads between Momo and Iida, as both of them, in his opinion, showed exemplary qualities in the form of leading by example. They were always by the book, and pushed for everyone to better themselves. Although both had admirable quirks, Izuku wasn't about to let that decide who should lead. Kacchan had an amazing quirk, but would, by far, be the worst Class President imaginable. 'Or would that go to Mineta?' Either way he was pulled out of his thoughts when he realized he was the only person who hadn't turned in a slip.

"Anytime now problem child," announced Mr. Aizawa.

He made up his mind and hurriedly wrote out 'Yaoyorozu' on his ballet before hastily making his way to turn it in to his teacher. After taking his seat he watched as Mr. Aizawa read through the votes, counting them all. He could've sworn he saw his eye twitch upon seeing the results; multiple times in fact.

"Alright class, your Vice President for this year will be Yaoyorozu," he announced. A collective cheer from Kyoka, Mineta, Mina, and Kaminari sounded through the classroom as Koda and Izuku just smiled, happy that their vote had won.

"And for your Class President this year…" Izuku had never seen him roll his eyes so hard. In the most monotone and unenthusiastic voice anyone had ever heard from the night hero, he spoke.

"Izuku Midoriya."

He stood up and immediately protested, "AGAIN?"

"You and Yaoyorozu, come up front and center please."

As the two made their way up, Iida made firm eye contact with Izuku and gave a nod of approval. He looked towards Momo and noticed her giving him an approving smile as well.

"_...whether you like it or not I have no idea but trust me when I say everything that's about to happen is for the best!"_

Izuku finally understood, and upon reaching the front of the classroom he gained a new sense of confidence. Before he spoke, Momo voiced, "thank you for once again allowing me to be your Vice President, I'll make sure to be just as effective, if not more, as I was last year. Thank you." She finished her small speech with a bow, earning a small applause from the class before she erected herself to turn towards Izuku expectantly.

Izuku breathed in and out deeply, clenched his fists and steeled himself. His classmates were relying on him, and he knew that within himself he had the ability to make the right decision. Everyone in the classroom's eyes widened as he finally spoke with newfound certainty.

"AS CLASS PRESIDENT I RECOMMEND AND APPOINT THIS POSITION OVER TO IIDA TENYA FO-"

Iida violently stood up straight, knocking his chair over from the sudden ferocity and shouted, "REJECTED!"

"BUT-"

"BUT NO."

"IIDA I-"

"YES YOU CAN!"

"Wait how did you know what I was gonna say THAT time?"

"I'm one of your best friends Midoriya. Also, sometimes you're exceedingly predictable."

They stood, staring each other down. 'I was sure Iida would've made a better Class President than me, and I was even more confident that he'd want to take the role if given to him. What's going on?" He thought as he then looked to the rest of the class. He couldn't really see anyone who could match up to Iida's example except for Momo, and she was already the Vice President.

Izuku finally gave in with an exasperated sigh. He once again calmed himself, standing tall as he gave his class a confident smile.

"W-Well then, i-if you really think I'm fit for being your Class President, t-then I guess I have no choice but to accept the offer. Everyone… thank you! I won't let you down!" he closed his eyes, taking a moment to keep his voice from shaking. His classmates were relying on him, and to them, he had already become a Symbol of Hope. 'This is for Sir Nighteye, Hawk, Grand Torino, Ms. Joke, Endeavor, and so many more…' he thought.

"L-Let's-" he couldn't stop himself from sniffling as he powered through, "S-sorry… Let's work hard this year, for everyone we lost, and for everyone… for everyone who's still with us!" He bowed to hide his tears as he finished, earning applause from the class. It was obvious Izuku was crying, but he wasn't the only one. Tears from some of the other students came forth as well, the pain of recent events being too much to contain within themselves. It was too much to bear alone.

And although Mr. Aizawa kept a calm and emotionless face, he couldn't help but feel the powerful tearing of his heart as well.

-0-0-0-0-0-

After a somewhat uneventful opening ceremony, Izuku found himself making his way up to the roof to eat lunch, pausing when he heard Iida call out to him.

"Midoriya!"

Walking beside him was Momo as they caught up.

"Do you mind if we eat with you today? We just wanted to talk with you about what you'll be doing as Class President this year," she said.

Iida turned his gaze from the Vice President back to Izuku, "yes, I most certainly believe it would benefit you to receive advice from a source of insight. Yaoyorozu and I will guide you through the ropes of what you'll be looking to accomplish."

Izuku couldn't help but smile at the fact that his classmates were willing to go so far for someone like him.

"Really guys, thank you so much. I don't exactly understand what it is you see in me to become our Class President, but I swear I'll live up to those expectations. I d-do have a q-question though," Izuku faced Iida awkwardly. "How come you didn't want to have the position this year?"

Iida stared back in thought, taking a few seconds before responding.

"Izuku," he placed his hand on his green haired friend's shoulder, emerald eyes widening at the use of his first name, "something I don't think you quite grasp Is just how much you've risen _beyond_ our expectations. You have constantly taken the lead when the rest of us stood back and did nothing in countless situations. Your drive to succeed is beyond anything I've ever _seen _Izuku." The boy being praised could tell from the look on Iida's face that he wasn't just saying this to pass off the responsibilities of Class President. His friend was talking from the heart, and he meant everything he said. Oddly enough, it still baffled him that he had classmates and friends who viewed him in such a positive light.

"I have watched you," continued Iida, "grow from the timid hero you once were, to the hero I see in front of me who has accomplished more than any of us have in the past year! You've proven yourself in everything from our practical exercises to taking down Overhaul! From getting Todoroki out of his shell to saving my life from Stain. You led us during the provisional license exam and you led us when saving Bakugo… and… and… you _saved us! _You saved so many of us…"

Iida's grip on Izuku's shoulder tightened his voice shaking slightly before settling again. "You've endured and pushed through unimaginable pain that at first had me believing you were simply a madman. But upon further inspection, it became obvious that it was just the extent of your resolve, and it is far above anyone else's I've ever seen! Countless times you've made me question my own decisions as a leader, and countless times I've learned _how _to be a leader from your example. If what you've been showing us isn't leadership material, then I haven't the slightest clue what is. Izuku I… uh… Izuku?"

Izuku's face was one of shock, almost unflinchingly frozen as his eyes streamed with tears. "You broke him…" chuckled Momo as she grabbed Izuku's wrist and pulled him towards the stairs. "C'mon let's go eat guys, I don't know about you but I'm starving! We'll talk more about this once we've got some food in us."

Izuku just nodded as he was dragged along by his two classmates.

After some time explaining daily responsibilities and tasks he would have as the new Class President, Iida and Momo simply conversed about their break and how they spent it. "Midoriya, you don't sound like you had too much fun over your break. All you did was train?" asked the female creationist.

"Well, I honestly like to train, so to me it _is_ fun. I-I can understand why people wouldn't see that though. It was also a good… um… distraction heh..."

"No I understand where you're coming from. I mean, I enjoy reading encyclopedias and chemistry books in my free time! I doubt you'll see many who do that…"

"Don't worry Midoriya, I too like the rush of training. Pushing myself to my limits is the only way I'll get stronger and faster! I'll have you know I've managed to push my Recipro Burst time up to twenty minutes now!"

"Oh wow seriously? That's great Iida! And Yaoyorozu I like to read a lot too. I-I just do most of my research on quirks, you've probably seen my journals…" Izuku said, scratching his head awkwardly.

There was a moment of silence as they finished eating before Iida got up and left, saying he had to let the reps for class 1-B know that there was a change in leadership. This left only Izuku and Momo to look over the rooftop and to the school campus below.

"You ready for our school training to get started back up?" Momo asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, but with this new position I've been put in it seems like I'll be even busier than ever…" Izuku said, laughing a bit nervously.

"Oh don't worry about it, you have me to guide you through it! Don't worry it's really not as much work as you think it is. It's not so much paperwork as it is just keeping the class informed and in control is all."

"Oh ok, I mean either way I could always just adjust to the workload, I was just concerned about getting caught off guard by it."

"And that's what I'm for. As Vice President I'll be there to lighten the workload, so we'll be seeing each other quite a bit from now on. Now that I think about it we haven't really talked that much to begin with, I guess this will let us become good friends," she held out her hand and smiled as she said, "I hope we get along."

Izuku looked at her hand for a moment, hesitating that a girl wanted to hold hands with him. 'It's not a big deal, it's just a handshake…'

He took her hand and they shook.

"Izuku are you ok? Why's your face so red?"

"Oh nothing!" he exclaimed as he looked off to the side, looking anywhere but her face.

Momo let go of his hand and looked on concern for him. "Anyway, before we head our separate ways we should probably exchange contact information. If you have any questions about being the new President just text or call me. Or if you just wanna talk in general go ahead and do that as well, I'll be looking forward to it since I wouldn't say we exactly know each other too well," she explained.

The whole time Momo typed her number in his phone, Izuku was holding back a blush. The storm of sweat brewing inside of him was blocked off through sheer will power alone as he typed his number into Momo's phone as well. They handed their phones back to each other as they were making their way back to class, with the Vice President telling him that she'd talk again after school. Upon entering the classroom, she squeezed Izuku's arm "I know we're just now getting to know each other, but if you ever need someone to vent or talk to, I'd be happy to listen. Take it as a thank you... for saving me… and everyone else here." With that let go of him and took her seat behind Mineta. Izuku slowly walked over to his seat, thinking about what she said.

"Lucky bastard, now you get to hang out with Yaoyorozu all the time," whispered Mineta, trying to lighten the young hero's mood in his own weird way.

Izuku just blushed before turning around, "look we're just friends alright?"

"Yeah and you're just friends with Uraraka right? What about that naked girl from the license exam? And you're just 'friends' with Melissa right? And what about Tsuyu and-"

"Y-Yes they're all just friends! Th-That's all there is to it! I swear! And I don't even know anything about the girl from the exam!"

"You should see the way they look at you," Mineta mumbled.

"S-sorry, I didn't hear you. What was that?"

"Oh nothing…"

"Class listen up," Mr. Aizawa said, gathering the class's attention. "We have a new goal for this year that involves someone that the problem child over here helped last year." He looked towards the classroom entrance, "you can go ahead and come in."

All eyes peered to the doorway as a little girl with small yellow horn sticking out of her silver hairline walked through slowly. She held her head down nervously, peering up at the students with her adorable ruby eyes.

"Eri!" the class exclaimed as the little girl's face flinched slightly. She looked around until her eyes landed on Izuku. Before anyone could say anything the freckled boy found his shirt being clutched tightly after the girl had decided to cling herself to him.

"See? It's like the female gender just lives for you," Mineta whispered quietly and out of earshot.

"She's still shy around large crowds so in the meantime try to be patient with her," Mr. Aizawa explained. "In time I'm sure she'll grow to be more accepting of everyone here. However if something goes wrong with her, be sure the first person you notify is me or another staff member here. If one isn't present for any reason, stay away from her entirely, as her quirk is still unstable. Midoriya these rules only partially apply to you. Since you're able to handle her when her quirk loses control, you'll be the first person to go to her if no other authorized pro heros are around to take care of her. She somehow also trusts you the most out of everyone here, so your job will be to calm her if she does become uncontrollable. Any questions?"

"No sir," Izuku replied, holding Eri protectively through instinct. Seeing her still reminded him of the day he could've saved her from Overhaul. Even to this day, he regretted not rescuing her from the Yakuza boss when he and Mirio first saw them in the alley. If he had saved her then, Sir Nighteye would possibly still be alive, Mirio would have his quirk, and the other students there at the time could've possibly been saved from getting injured so severely.

Mr. Aizawa noticed the intense gaze in Izuku's eyes, "Good, on that note, the reason for this is help help Eri get a hold of her quirk so she doesn't become unstable in the future. We want her to be able to live her own life without the constant need of supervision. Midoriya along with this you'll be coming before class every so often to help Eri with her quirk training. It'll be a help for both you. You'll be learning how to manage Full Cowl more effectively, and Eri will learn how to manage her Reversal quirk. We're killing two birds with one stone here. This babysitting job I'm giving you is only during school hours, as she has a room prepped with us to ensure she's watched overnight."

He eyed the class to make sure no face was lost in confusion. Satisfied that everyone understood, he finished off, "now I understand that it's just past lunch time, but almost all of you haven't been to your dorm rooms in a while, so I imagine there are things you'd like to take care of. I have nothing else for you today, and your classes don't start until tomorrow so I'm letting you all go. Get out."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Everyone from classes 1-A and 1-B had been let out early. 'I guess they were feeling nice today,' thought Izuku as he walked in between Uraraka and Iida.

"So Deku, you excited about being the Class Prez this year?" asked the cheery brunette.

"I'm ready for anything you guys throw at me! I have Iida and Yayorozu to thank for giving me the confidence to accept my position!"

"Midoriya you give me too much credit. Honestly speaking, I think I just opened your eyes to your actual capabilities, or at least somewhat. I believe you've had the confidence for quite some time now, it's hidden deep within you."

"S-see? Iida gives some pretty good motivational speeches huh?" Izuku said, slightly blushing in embarrassment.

"Did I hear my name somewhere here?" a female voice asked from behind them.

"Oh! Momo whats up!" Uraraka said.

Momo gave a slight smirk as she fit herself between Uraraka and Izuku, motioning for someone behind them with a wave of her hand. Within seconds Kyoka had appeared along with Momo on either side of Uraraka, giving wickedly mischievous smiles. Izuku suddenly sneezed as the two both began whispering to Uraraka. Neither Iida or Izuku could hear what was said however, as Kyoka used her jacks to cancel out any noise that tried to escape. All they could do was watch as Uraraka's face suddenly turned a very bright shade of red. Her eyes went wide as she quickly tried to respond. Izuku, try as he might, could still not hear anything, but opted to try reading her lips instead.

'Is it still that obvious?'

Huh? Or at least that's what it seemed like the blushing girl said. Either way, he had not a clue what they were talking about and instead just decided he would talk with Iida as they walked back to their dorms.

'I'm not sure if I even wanna know…' thought Izuku.

"Hey Midoriya, do you have plans today?" Iida said, pulling Izuku out of his thoughts.

"Uh… no. Why?"

"I was wondering if you would like to join me and a few others. We're going out in town to enjoy the rest of the day as a way to celebrate us all coming together again."

"Ooh I'd like to go!" Uraraka exclaimed, her face still recovering from the blushing mess it was just a few seconds ago. "Deku you should come too!" she said as she got closer to his face.

Izuku froze up. 'Always. Too. Close,' he whimpered to himself. His face blazed crimson before he answered weakly, "y-yes… I-I'll come too…"

"Ochako give the poor guy a break!" a pink skinned girl suddenly said, catching up to the group of friends. She got in front of Izuku and began walking backwards, keeping pace with their steps.

"On second thought, hold the phone! Ochako I don't blame you for wanting to get close now! Look at that jawline! Izuku what happened to your face? You used to look like a baby!" exclaimed Mina as she examined him, suddenly coming to a realization

"Uh… I-I d-don't know… uh…"

"Izuku you got hot!"

Izuku's face glowed bright red, his face heating up as he lost the ability to speak.

"Daang Ochako you know how to pick'em!" she winked at Uraraka who was now at the exact same state Izuku was at this point.

After calming down Iida spoke up again, "Mina you coordinated this event, who else will be coming?"

"So far it's you, me, Ochako, Izuku, Momo, Kyoka, Kirishima, and Shinso. I went ahead and invited him along since he's our newest dude. He doesn't seem to have many friends yet."

"I thought he was trying to tell us he didn't want friends," Momo said, intrigued at the sudden change.

"Oh no he definitely said that!" Mina laughed, "but I also told him I'd quit bothering him if he just agreed to it. He agreed to come way too fast after that…" her laughter turned into an awkward chuckle at this revelation. "Well, I think it'll still do him some good regardless. I want to see him become more social with us, and Kirishima and I are determined to make that happen!" She raised her fist to emphasize her drive to succeed. She turned around as they neared the entrance to the 1-A class dorms and opened a glass door as Izuku opened the other. A chorus of thanks was given by most of the students passing through before Mina and Izuku were the last ones.

She grabbed his shoulder to get his attention and looked him in the eye, "Izuku... I think you sell yourself too short. I wasn't saying that just to compliment you, you know? I was saying that because it's true, and you seem like you could use a little confidence boost after seeing your mood today. We're trying to move on Izuku, and I think you should too. I can tell this has been eating you up inside along with Todoroki, so I'm just trying to cheer you up. And I like to tease you, your reactions are cute!" she laughed as he again turned a brilliant shade of red.

As they walked through the doors she elbowed his prosthetic arm lightly, "seriously though, you're a lot more than you give yourself credit for. I mean it."

He flinched slightly, still getting used to the altered feeling in his new appendage, "Thanks Ashido, I appreciate it."

"You don't need to thank me, if anything I should be thanking you. Just don't let my compliments turn you into Bakugo and we'll be good. Now cheer up already! I'm gonna go beat some sense into Todoroki now!""

Izuku chuckled to himself as she left.

"_We're trying to move on Izuku, and I think you should too."_

'I'll do it, for everyone relying on me.'


	2. Trust

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own My Hero Academia. All characters and ideas are property of Kohei Horikoshi. Thank you._

_**A/N:**_ _So the warning will still stand. As it's been brought to my attention that one of the main points of my story ends up actually being a reality in the latest updates of __My Hero Academia_ _in chapter 260. In fact it hints towards several predictions that I have that have been implemented into this fantiction. Honesty I should just be a fortune teller at this point. So before anyone complains, __**THIS FANFICTION IS CONFIRMED TO HAVE SPOILERS**__. Read at your own discretion, and if you do decide to continue, then I thank you for reading. Enjoy :)_

-0-0-0-0-0-

_**Trust**_

Plans to hang out quickly fell apart.

Mostly due to short notice of said plans.

As it turned out, Ochako's parents wanted to spend one last day with her before her schedule started getting hectic, whereas Iida and Kirishima were brought back by an ever-unemotional Mr. Aizawa who informed them of a request for an unexpected surprise internship with Fatgum.

"Wow you guys are lucky! I wish you the best!" Izuku had told them.

Although Kyoka wanted to go, she found that her bass guitar needed new strings. She had decided to head out already to get replacements, promising to join up with them later if she had time or saw them out and about.

"Well if no one's gonna be there I'll just let Shinso know we'll go at a different time. I want him to have an experience with all of us, and I don't think he'll have too much fun if hardly anyone goes. Also he's kinda only giving me one shot to get him out of his shell so I gotta time it right!" Mina laughed as she spoke over the phone with Momo.

Now, it was only Izuku and Momo with open schedules, and the former wasn't even sure if Momo would agree to go at this point. Either way, he needed to get out and do something, whether it be with someone else or just by himself. He needed a distraction from the water park his eyes had decided to turn into today.

He picked up his phone and laid back in bed, scrolling through his contacts until he came across the one he was looking for.

_Yaoyorozu_

He hesitated, his thumb slightly hovering over the call button, hands clammy with sweat. His body started trembling, yet he couldn't tell if it was out of excitement or nervousness. Possibly both, as the anxiety of talking to a new girl always seemed to get to him. Finally, he made up his mind, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing the call button.

After a moment he opened his eyes, realizing what he had just done. 'Oh crap what do I say? Oh crap! Oh crap!'

_Connecting…_

'Maybe her phone is turned off and she can't receive calls,' he sighed.

'And I worried for noth-"

_Ringing…_

'CRAP!' he thought as he dropped his phone on his face in panic. He scrambled for the phone and pressed it to his face just as Momo picked up.

"Hey Midoriya! What's up? Is it about our plans today?"

"Uhh. Ummmm…"

...

"Midoriya?"

"SORRY! I mean, sorry. Uh yeah no one's going anymore, they all were busy… well… except for me and you. I-I understand if you don't want to go anymore since it would just be us two, I'm sure you'd rather go with more people-"

"Nah I'm still good for today," Momo said, stopping his rambling before he lost control, "I've got nothing to do and I think it'd be a good chance to get to know each. Remember what I said earlier? We're gonna be working together often from now on, so the sooner we get familiar with one another the faster we can start working together effectively!"

"Oh! Yeah that of course! Ha! Umm, well since it'll just be us two, did you have anything in mind?" Izuku asked curiously.

"Hmm, sure! I know a good sandwich shop down the road from campus, we'd easily be able to make it back by curfew even if we left late."

'Wait, that sounds like…'

"We'll just call it a friendly date!" Yaoyorozu said.

"A d-date?" he asked, his stomach did a flip. No, make that two flips. Maybe three.

"Uhh, Midoriya? Is there a problem? Will you be able to go today?"

"Oh! Yes! I can go! Umm… yes!" Midoriya confirmed. He couldn't help but break down into a nervous wreck. 'Calm down Izuku, she very clearly said a _friendly _date!'

"Well I'm gonna get my studying in for the day. I'll come knocking on your door when I'm finished. Does that sound good Midoriya?"

"Yeah, and umm… if I don't answer I'm probably just asleep. I'll leave the door unlocked if that's the case and you can just wake me up."

They both laughed at how likely that was about to become.

"Alright, well I'll be waiting until then," Izuku said.

"Talk to you in a bit Midoriya," she replied as they ended the call.

Sleep came easy for Izuku, the emotional exhaustion of the day finally catching up to him. His eyelids had been feeling heavy throughout his phone call with Momo and he was practically falling asleep anyway.

He succumbed to darkness, and then suddenly Izuku found himself just outside of the Liberation Army's hidden base, along with nearly every hero in Japan's hero agency, and the rest of class 1-A.

"All high tier pro heroes who specialize in heavy combat will take the frontlines! We'll deal with the big guns while the rest of you keep any of the little guys from escaping. Do NOT! Under ANY circumstance! Let the students enter the main conflict! Am I understood?" Endeavor announced as everyone nodded, prepared to invade.

Izuku observed as everyone around him, namely his classmates, began sweating and fidgeting nervously. However, they weren't alone. Other pro heroes were becoming nervous wrecks as well, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that this large scale invasion entailed far more danger than class 1-A was being told about.

'Something's not right here…'

He felt a hand on his shoulder from behind, "Midoriya," it was Shoto, "am I alone when I say I have a bad feeling about this?"

"No Todoroki, something here feels terribly wrong."

As if on cue, a thunderous boom was heard as a winged man soared up through the smoke of a fresh explosion from deep within the base of run down buildings. Feathers flew about at incredible speeds, deflecting projectiles from all directions as the man performed aerial maneuvers that put fighter jets to shame.

Everything moved in slow motion as the realization hit. The man out in the distance, deflecting and maneuvering through heavy enemy fire, was none other than the number two hero, Hawks.

"That's too much for him to handle! I'm going to help him escape! Everyone stay here!" announced Endeavor.

However his lift off was cut short as a massive hand the size of an entire house protruded from the ground.

It all happened too fast, and everyone watching could only stand and observe as the hand shot forward, it's fingers grasping over Hawks's body as he tried to evade it. What followed were the crunch of his legs and lower abdomen as the giant's fingers slammed shut on top of him, and like a fly being squished by a swatter, Hawks's blood was visibly seen spewing through the air as he let out a blood curdling scream.

Without a second thought, Izuku found himself launching towards the hero at fifty percent Full Cowl, reinforcing his legs with Black Whip, and letting his insane momentum carry him with Float.

"HAWKS HANG IN THERE!" he screamed as he flew towards him. The pro hero was in a fight for his life as he gathered all of his feathers and spun them like a buzz saw all around the giant's hand, leaving it a mangled mess as it released him.

Izuku braced for impact as he caught Hawks out of the air, "Hawks! I'm gonna get you to safety! Just stay with me!"

A trail of blood was left behind them as Hawks' destroyed lower body dangled in the wind. He coughed up copious amounts of blood as he spoke. "Kid, I think I'm a little too far gone for saving, get out of here!"

"What the hell are you talking about! I'll save you! Just stop talking and conserve your energy!"

"Deku, I've heard of you, and while I can understand your resolve, don't let your emotions cloud your vision."

"What?!"

"You'll make a fine hero some day…" and with that, he shoved Izuku away, using the rest of his remaining feathers to propel the two from each other. Izuku fell through the air, and could only watch as a torrent of projectile quirks from the surrounding villains on the ground made their way to the man who had just pushed him out of harm's way. He was broken beyond repair, beaten up and bloodied, and his insides hung out of his crushed abdomen. Yet the pro hero had valued Izuku's life over his own all the same.

Then blood splattered as the number two flying hero was torn to literal pieces right in front of Izuku's very eyes.

"NOOOOO!"

Izuku awoke with a start.

"HAWKS!"

His breathing was heavy, and his clothes were soaked in sweat. His right robotic arm, instinctively reinforced with Black Whip, was outstretched.

"Midoriya please answer me!" he shook himself out of his thoughts as he felt a hand laid gently on his metallic bicep, black tendrils lightly lapping at Momo's fingers.

He slowly looked up to see her fighting back tears as she tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she said as she suddenly embraced him. "I don't think any of us had any idea that this was what you were going through…"

Midoriya tensed, still feeling the adrenaline of his nightmarish recollection from the events of the Liberation war. After some time he relaxed and gently hugged Momo back, his eyes stinging and his body shaking violently as he finally let out what he had been holding in all day. He sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder, a pitiful cry of an emotionally scarred warrior who hadn't even reached adulthood, but had seen everything it had to offer and so much more.

Momo's heart wrenched. She had seen Izuku cry before, but never had she heard him sound so… _broken_. To feel responsible for so many deaths, for someone who spoke of how he'd save _everyone_! Reality had caught up to his ideals, and losing his arm was a constant reminder of how harsh the world really was. She couldn't even imagine the pain he was going through.

It took several moments for Izuku to finally take control of himself, his face still buried in Momo's untied hair.

"Sorry… that was kind of embarrassing… I doubt you wanted to see that…" he laughed.

"Izuku, we could all tell that you were hurting, so don't apologize for being human. If anything it relieves me to know that you haven't shut everything out, and that you're still willing to grieve. It means you're not too far gone," she explained as she pushed him away to look into his glowing green eyes. His eyelids had become pink and puffy, gleaming with drying tears.

Izuku simply nodded in understanding, "Yaoyorozu?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," he chuckled again lightheartedly, letting her know that her emotional support had worked, and it was appreciated.

"Of course, and hey. What did I tell you earlier? If you ever need someone to talk to, or just someone to vent to, just give me a call or text. I'll be right over to help you. It's the least I can do," she said smiling.

Izuku smiled as well before Momo stood up, "now go take a shower and get ready to go eat! I'm taking you to that sandwich shop and you're gonna feel better whether you like it or not! Let's go! Grab your towel and and your three-in-one shampoo crap!" she said, dragging him to his feet and pushing him out the door. She, sighed heavily, relieved she was able to help out a friend in need, especially when said friend had gone through so much to save her and the entire class. How he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders without submitting to the pressure was beyond her. She couldn't understand it, but regardless, she found it an extremely admirable trait of his.

'Jeez Midoriya, how do you do it?'

-0-0-0-0-0-

After getting ready to go eat, Izuku followed Momo out the gates as she led them down the road to the local sandwich shop.

"Well I think I see why you like this place," he said, noticing Rozu's Shack being the name of the restaurant.

"Yeah my family owns a small chain. We try to keep it small because we want to keep it all gourmet. Ya know? We don't want to industrialize our food."

"Oh that makes sense, I imagine the food here is good then?" Izuku inquired.

"I'd say it is, but I'm a bit biased so I'll let you decide that," she said with a laugh.

Upon entering the shop, a waitress was quick to greet Momo by name before sitting them down at a booth.

Izuku sat across from Momo at the table before asking, "this may be a dumb thing to say, but I noticed that everyone seems to know you here."

"Well, I mean… c-considering my family o-owns the chain… yeah…" she said, trying not to sound arrogant.

Izuku just laughed at her sudden adorable change of character, "I've never seen you trip over your words before!"

Momo rolled her eyes and smirked, "at least I don't trip over my words as often as a certain _someone _I know…"

"Hey! I'm at least getting better about it! Oh yeah? What about you when you…"

The banter continued, and Momo was happy that she could distract Izuku from what was eating him up inside. It wasn't pleasant to observe his internal struggles, and she knew that at some point he would have to face his problems, but right now, what he truly needed, was a way to relax before he became unstable.

No one except for Todoroki had really been hit as hard emotionally as Izuku from the battle, but Todoroki by far had better control over himself when it came to making sound decisions. The one who needed guidance to keep from self destruction was the wielder of One for All. Not that she knew that, but to anyone who looked at class 1-A, it became clear that Izuku had the strongest, yet most self destructive, quirk out of all of them.

It became that moment, as they sat, making fun of each other and eating their sandwiches, that she was determined to save Izuku from none other… than himself.

"Hey Yaoyorozu, thanks for taking me out to eat today, you really did help me quite a bit by doing this."

"It's not a problem Midoriya, it's what friends do," she replied.

Although his time had been a blast hanging out with his new friend, one thing that kept occurring every now and then that he couldn't help but notice was the way she kept glancing at his new arm, whether it be from concern or curiosity he wasn't sure. Either way he knew she was interested in it, and decided he'd give her a treat.

After paying for their meal, they found themselves walking along the busy street back down to campus. "Yaoyorozu, I noticed you kept looking at my arm…"

"Oh? Uh- Y-yeah I'm sorry that was rude of me, I'll stop-"

"N-no it's fine seriously…" he said, easing her sudden guilt. "Umm… do you wanna see how it works? You'd be the first to know. Well, besides Hatsume at least since she kinda made it..."

"Really? You'd show me?" Her eyes glowed with excitement, her inner nerd oozing out as she looked at him expectantly.

"O-of course! Just think of it as repayment for the whole 'cheering me up' thing!"

"Awsome! I've been wanting to know how it works since I first saw it this morning!"

"Well if you look up here," he said, pulling up a sleeve to reveal his black shoulder as she gasped, "you'll see that I have to have black whip active at all times to keep it running. Trust me it's not bruised or anything, it's just my quirk showing," he laughed as Momo's face turned back to one of curiosity after her concern was quelled. "While I c-can't take it off to show you how the inside works, it would be best to imagine my Black Whip a-as wires, and the electricity I generate as its power source."

"But wouldn't that just drain your energy?"

"In a sense yes, but my arm doesn't have to rely on metabolism to work anymore, so the trade off leaves it relatively the same."

Momo facepalmed at the actual simplicity of its energy use, almost disappointed in herself for not seeing that earlier. "Tell me more, like, isn't it more fragile than your arm? Considering it's a machine now?"

"Yes and no, the structure of the design is dependent on the intensity of the amount of Black Whip I put through it. In a sense, think of my tendrils as muscle fibers within my arm. The arm itself has metal coiled high density fiber cables that my Black Whip surrounds like muscle over bone, so the stronger my Black Whip becomes, the stronger my arm is. I got the idea from when I fought Muscular and how his quirk worked."

"Oh wow, that's actually… REALLY smart! No wonder people call you the quirk genius! I just thought you had an obsession with taking notes if I'm being honest, sorry for misjudging you," Momo said, feeling slightly guilty.

"O-oh I would be lying if I said I wasn't obsessed with quirks," Izuku said as the passed through the campus gates, "considering I was thought to be quirkless for a time it was all I could really do to keep up…" he explained, then chuckled, "and besides, these quirks that I have are dangerous, I've been told that if they had manifested at a younger age I could've ripped my body apart."

"Yeah that wouldn't have been a pretty sight," she said, opening the door to 1-A dorm building for him. He muttered a quick thanks before realizing he was about to go back to his room.

"Well umm…" he began to say, "I had fun."

"Y-yeah me too…" she replied, not really wanting to end their time together.

As dense as Izuku was, the tension was quite obvious. Neither one of them wanted to separate yet. "Y-You know, n-now that I think about it, we're a lot more alike than I thought we'd be. I-I'm kinda surprised we haven't talked more," he stated.

"I know, I was pretty pleasantly surprised as well, I didn't expect it but, you're really fun to talk to…"

Again, tension.

You could cut it with a knife.

Izuku looked at the clock on the wall and finally decided to gather the courage to speak up about the elephant in the room. "Umm, there's still a few hours until curfew, d-do you w-wanna, I-I don't know, look at some notes I have o-on everybody's quirk?"

"Yes!" she said all too quickly. She realized her obviousness and started to blush while looking down at her feet sheepishly. It wasn't that they felt romantic tension, it was just a new experience to find someone so willing to be open to. All their lives they had to suppress who they really were, and the two felt as if they could talk about anything and everything without the fear of being judged with one another. They were comfortable, and in a world where many people look only for your quirk, or in Momo's case, wealth, it was refreshing to see that someone appreciated the other for who they were as a person.

Izuku beamed at Yaoyorozu, smiling and saying, "c'mon, I've got a lot to show you."

"Alright, lets see what you've got!"

"Just one thing," he said as they climbed the stairs to his room.

"What's that?"

"I'm not finished with your entry yet in my journal, your quirk has so many potential uses that I haven't quite finished it," he explained, "b-but I promise to show you as soon as I think it has a good amount!"

Momo giggled, "alright, I won't look."

The next few hours had been spent showing her different quirks he had taken notes on, ranging from pro heroes, to villains, to all of their classmates. However, he stopped when he reached the page of a certain red haired, hard headed classmate.

"Lately I've become really interested in Kirishima's quirk. I'll have to look into it more, but if I'm right, his quirk will have outlandish potential. I was able to test it a little bit when I shared my enhancement quirk with him, but his skin had hardened and become so dense I thought I could feel a gravitational pull to him. It might've just been my imagination, but I REALLY want to find out if my theory turns out to be true," he said, ready to go on a full rant.

As he continued, Momo couldn't help but admire his knack for figuring quirks out, and was both surprised and impressed with some of the applications he had come up with for their fellow classmates. 'Wow, not only does he want to improve himself, but everyone else as well…' she thought. It seemed the more she got to know him, the more her admiration for him, not just as a hero, but as a person, grew exponentially.

"Midoriya I really don't know if you know this," she said, "but you're really amazing…"

Izuku couldn't stop the blush from spilling out onto his face as he quickly turned away, "o-oh uh, thanks. W-what brought that on?"

"You not only focus on your own training to rise up by yourself, but you help us as well. You have a whole list of how every one of us could improve our quirks and it's simply amazing that you would take the time to do that."

"Oh it's more just a hobby than anything…"

"Midoriya, you've shown all of us your selfless acts, and you constantly put others before yourself in almost any situation I've seen you in. You do all these amazing things and go through more suffering than I could ever endure, yet somehow come out as humble as ever! If that's not amazing then what is?" she said.

"Th-thanks, I really appreciate that you think that of me, b-but don't sell yourself short either. You're the Vice President for reason, and you helped the entire class in getting to pass the hero course last year at all to begin with. Without you, half of our class wouldn't have even made it," he exclaimed laughing, "and you're actually one of the main reasons why I started tackling my academic studies so hard as well. You were my main goal to catch up to and surpass in that regard. I mean… I still haven't caught up to you, but you better believe I'll still try!"

Now it was Momo's turn to blush, "you really see my nerding out as impressive?"

"Yaoyorozu, you pretty much just said you found my nerdiness impressive, s-so what's the difference?" Izuku said, almost defiantly.

Momo's lips began to curve into a smile at the praise she had been waiting to hear for most of her life.

"Momo," she said.

"W-what?"

"I said call me Momo. No one's ever complimented me like that before except for my family, so I feel close enough to you to have you call me by my first name."

"AH OKAY!"

"You're shouting!" she laughed, loving his reaction to her request.

"OH I'M SORRY MOMO-" his face blazed with a fiery passion as he realized what he just said. "AH- UHH! I'M STILL YELLING AREN'T I?"

"YES VERY MUCH SO!" she yelled back as she began to double over from laughter.

It took her awhile but she had managed to calm him down. They had both looked at the clock, seeing that it almost read nine o'clock at night. In what felt like thirty minutes, they had spent the last three hours enjoying each other's company. 'I guess time passes fast when you spend it with someone you like,' thought Izuku, completely oblivious to the fact that he just stated his feelings right then and there in his own head.

"Well I better head back to my room, Mr. Aizawa would probably get the wrong idea if I stayed in here any longer."

They both were hesitant to leave the other one, so Momo broke the tension by squeezing Izuku in a hug. "Thanks for opening up to me, I appreciate that you trust me, even if we have only just started getting to know each other. It's kinda weird actually, I feel like we've known each other for years now!"

Izuku stood frozen before hugging back, "thanks. You know, for wanting to be my friend uh… Mo… Uh, M-Mo," he squeezed her harder and buried his face in her neck in embarrassment, "Momo…"

Her face was glowing brightly at this sudden action. He had only done it to hide his embarrassment, but in all honesty it was quite a bold move. Momo couldn't help but somewhat relish as she felt his powerful arms wrapping tightly around her.

After a hug they both knew to be much longer than one for normal friends, they parted.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, we gotta get some sleep for class tomorrow," Momo said.

"Okay, goodnight Momo."

"Goodnight… _Izuku_," she said as she closed the door.

Izuku proceeded to pass out from embarrassment.


End file.
